Rendered unto Cesar

Charles Evans Hughes once went to bed thinking he was President of the U.S., and woke up to discover that he was just another citizen. Carl Michael Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox went to Puerto Rico at the end of the 1967 baseball season, apparently certain of winning unanimous selection as the American League's Most Valuable Player. And why not? Outfielder Yastrzemski led the league in batting (.326) and RBls (121); he was tied for the lead in home runs (44), and had personally powered the Red Sox--who finished ninth in 1966--to the American League pennant. In the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, he hit .400 and clouted three home runs.

Last week, when the votes of the Baseball Writers' Association were counted, Yaz was indeed the Most Valuable Player--but only on 19 out of 20 secret ballots. The other vote went to Cesar Tovar, a utility infielder for the second-place Minnesota Twins who batted .267, hit six homers and drove in 47 runs. "Naturally," sighed Yastrzemski, "I would have liked it to be unanimous. But I'm happy to have won."

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